"You married into the heart of an empire known for swallowing its enemies whole."
Kaelion tensed, but Elira placed a gentle hand on his. "Velanthia didn't offer me a future. Here, I carve my own."
Ilonara studied her. "Then you should know something. There are rumors surfacing—about your mother's death. That it wasn't illness. That someone from the Dravendor trade court may have been involved."
Elira froze.
Kaelion's voice was ice. "You'll explain. Now."
Ilonara opened a silk scroll and unrolled it slowly. "Encrypted letters between House Saelinne and a merchant lord who had ties in both kingdoms. If these are real… it could mean your marriage wasn't just political. It was manipulated."
Elira's world spun slightly. "Why show me this now?"
"Because you're not safe," Ilonara said. "Not from them. And maybe… not even from him."
Kaelion stood.
Fast.
The tension crackled like lightning. "Leave," he said. "Now."
Ilonara rose, unbothered. "She deserves to know the truth."
"I'll find the truth," Elira said, stepping between them. "But no more games."
Ilonara bowed her head, then slipped from the room, leaving the scroll behind.
That Night, Elira's Chambers
The scroll lay open across Elira's lap, her fingers trembling.
Kaelion entered silently. He hadn't knocked.
"You believe her?" he asked.
"I don't know," she whispered. "I want to think my mother died in peace. But if she didn't…"
He crouched in front of her, hand brushing her knee.
"I'll burn every house that touched her," Kaelion said quietly. "Including those in my court."
She looked into his eyes, searching. "Even if it was one of your allies?"
His jaw clenched. "Yes."
She nodded slowly. "Then I'll trust you."
They sat in silence for a moment—two rulers balanced on a knife's edge, their pasts bleeding into their future.
Then she leaned down and kissed him.
Not desperate. Not soft.
Certain.
And when he kissed her back, it was with the weight of everything he never said. Everything he didn't know how to feel.
But was finally starting to learn.